As a professional animator Matt wanted a way to experiment with animation, to express the random ideas and styles that popped into his head. Due to the unpredictable, feast-or-famine nature of the animation business, he knew he would have to develop a style that was simple enough to be done quickly yet versatile enough to tell a wide range of stories. The oddly chunky and simplified characters came to life.

In 2008, the band Nine Inch Nails challenged its fans to create music video's for its Ghosts album. The band had created the album with the idea of doing it quickly, without over thinking it. Being a long time fan, Matt decided to approach his animation in the same way and he completed "In Vino Veritas" music video animation using this simplified style.

In 2009, Matthew A. Ducharme decided to create a monthly web series using the same simple style. The first “Mat the Wad” was published in February of 2009 and Matt continues to work on creating new shorts every month.